here's some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm trying hard welcome to the big picture. the day's news on the week's top stories egypt's new constitution and trying islamic north looks set to pass as most voters seemingly back the draft and a referendum preceded by weeks of this protest plus. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a. gun lobby logic which has incensed millions of americans calling for tougher controls as a country pays its last farewells inference and teachers killed in last week's shooting massacre. moscow moves

a step closer to banning americans from adopting russian children in response to washington stopping sanctions on russian officials. and wiki leaks prepare some new year revelations in the sun to promises more than a million secret files will leave no government on its watched. you're watching artie's weekly news right here with me kerry johnston welcome to the program. now egyptians have had their say in the historic vote on the new constitution that's revealed deep divisions within the country and sparked violent protests the majority appear to have said yes to the islamist draft document but the opposition has pointed out that both rounds of the referendum were marred by

mass violations cairo based journalist bill true says the final result is unlikely to ease egypt's political crisis. the preliminary results are in for egypt's contentious constitutional referendum egypt appears to voted for the constitution sixty four percent say yes. thirty six percent have said no this comes after mass dissent in the streets across the country with a cast three weeks against this constitution opposition forces say mean for the presidential dictatorship and was drafted by an islamist dominated assembly of the twenty seven governors that went to vote in the last week only three voted against the constitution. this in the last round is largely due to the fact that in the last seventeen governments they went to vote a large amount of them are rural governorates who with large muslim brotherhood supports places the opposition forces for their part to say that the reason it is a yes is because of electoral violations they say they've seen

a number of instances of possible vote rigging including missing judges unsupervised polling stations missing ballot papers to stuff the ballot boxes and also campaigning by the muslim brotherhood groups also ultra ultra conservative salafist groups in the polling stations telling people to vote yes the biggest news of the day however is the resignation of the vice president mohamed mickey this is largely seen to be perhaps because in the draft constitution as it currently stands there is no coast for the vice president this comes in the background of deepening violence across the country on friday we saw clashes between rival protest groups limits rallies in egypt second city of alexandria in support of the constitution there was rock throwing and also burning of cars the police had to intervene with tear gas that comes just one week after

a similar clashes and xandra and of course three weeks after a very bloody scenes here in the capital cairo we saw ten people die when rivals. he says. for outside the presidential palace with a deepening political crisis in neither side backing down now the constitution is likely to be put in place we can only expect dissent from the street and possible violence across the country when we talk to while iskandar an egyptian journalist and blogger who voted against the draft constitution he explained why the document is bad for the country but past nevertheless i did vote myself and i voted no for the constitution and i think the vote this vote is not about the constitution but about the legitimacy of the muslim brotherhood and the direction they're taking the country the constitution itself is a very flawed it takes away more freedoms it gives police powers to detain people for more than twelve hours or twelve hours and cement the military role in egypt

something unprecedented in all of egypt's constitution the numbers so far in the past results have indicated that this constitution will pass the amount of voting allegro regularities confirm that and the regime is determined as well to to let the. well this week marks two years since tunisia gave rise to the arab spring that went on to engulf other nations later we report on the men and women who died up in tire nations during the revolutions and who now say they've been left behind. it's been a heartbreaking week of farewells in newtown connecticut where all twenty children and six adults have been laid to rest after one of the worst mass shootings in american history a massacre reignited this debate on gun laws whose critics say make it too easy for the public to access military grade weapons is going to chicken now and whether

america is now ready to change its treasured second amendment. a week after the tragedy at the elementary school in newtown president obama made the same pledge when he became president four years ago to try and get assault weapons off the streets of the u.s. it's a pledge he has failed to deliver on this is not the first issue the first incident going by. here for you. but the administration indicates this time it's different this time they're serious commitment and compromise. and most of all it will take coach shooting this bullet it's a school and it's an important part of our hearing the debate taking place at the moment suggests a national consensus on the issue is far down the line and the dialogue between those who support and those who oppose such a ban comes down to this with guns comes safety if the guns are in the hands of the good guys if you not believe the stupid man on the powerful special interest group

in washington the national rifle association has successfully fought any form of gun control legislation for years and the solution they offer to the epidemic of gun violence that has plagued the us is more guns. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun constitutional lawyer roger pilon things along the same lines and suggest arming teachers to prevent massacres like the one in newtown connecticut you're always going to have people who are going to be doing these kinds of evil deeds what you need to do is protect yourself against the weapons in schools and you go to a movie theater you have to carry a gun because there will be there maybe someone with a semiautomatic you know wiping out the entire theater as we have seen is that what you're suggesting. where do you put it provocatively like that what

i'm suggesting people movie theater yes because the police cannot be everywhere there are almost three hundred million privately owned firearms in the u.s. around ten thousand americans die in gun violence every year the gun murder rate in the u.s. is almost twenty times higher than in the next twenty two richest and most populous nations combined. we have three hundred million guns in america but also the population of three hundred million people so it's one gun per person and if more guns were actually the solution to deterring shootings it many times it would have this problem in the first place the gun adam lanza use to kill twenty young children and six adults at the sandy hook elementary school was an a r fifteen semiautomatic rifle it's a military style rifle that can shoot hundreds of rounds at a record speed it belongs to adams mother who he also murdered nancy lanza

a teacher at the same elementary school owned six guns numerous types of assault weapons are readily available for purchase in the u.s. at gun stores at gun shows and online after the newtown tragedy many americans are calling for change again. make it inherently make it worth something. because you can't create previous meaningful attempts to change a wall and that wall is the second amendment of the constitution the right of the people to bear arms skeptics say the most can do is require background checks. but again adam lanza's mother a teacher at an elementary school would have probably passed any of those checks on her military rifle would have ended up in the hands of her son anyway that constitutional lawyer i spoke to seemed very certain that nothing major is going to change when it comes to. america does that mean more massacres like the tragedy. in

washington i'm going to. well. you can tell us what you think can be done to reduce the number of gun deaths in the u.s. how your views stack up so far today thirty five percent think the media should be forbidden from overhyping the messages slightly fewer say nothing can be done while the second amendment is in place a fifth of respondents calling for you gun laws and restrictions well ten percent propose increasing security in public places well tell us what you would do heading to dot com. there's been a series of tit for tat moves between moscow and washington this week including

a ban in progress to stop americans adopting russian children which was approved by russians they were house of parliament thousands of americans responded by asking the white house to consider imposing sanctions on russian or makers of the russian ban which is also split the public within the country is part of why do that just nations meant to target those who have used the rights of russians of response by washington imposing travel and financial restrictions on russian officials suspected of involvement in the death of game magnitsky he died in custody it during a massive tax fraud investigation three years ago but president putin says the u.s. should look at its own record before criticizing others for human rights violations . our us partners and their lawmakers say they are concerned about human rights in our prisons and that's fine of course but there are plenty of issues they have themselves abu ghraib and guantanamo where for years people have been detained

without charge it's inconceivable to prisoners walk around in chains like in the middle ages they've legalized torture inside their own country if something like that happened here it would cause an international outcry but it all remains quiet in the us we've heard plenty of promises to close guantanamo but it's still there it's still operating maybe there is still torture going on there secret cia prisons has anyone been brought to account and they're pointing at our problems well thank you we're aware of that making this the ground for passing anti russian laws it's something absurd and we have a no way provoked such action. well president putin's comments came during his first major news conference since returning to the kremlin you can watch the highlights of that q. and a session in about thirty minutes here now to. it will be

a nervous new year for governments around the world as wiki leaks promises to publish more than a million secret files over the next twelve months releasing information it claims will affect every single country in the world where the pledge came from the whistle blowing web sites found that you're in the sand with a vivid a christmas address to supporters who've gathered outside the door in embassy in london the speech six months since a song. to seek asylum and avoid extradition and been there ever since facing arrest if he steps outside kristinn hrafnsson from wiki leaks insists aside his predicament won't stop the site from its drive for truth and transparency. when we know about the ongoing. investigation and the secret grand jury you know sundry in virginia there is. an ongoing attempt to find an angle to bring charges against julian and possibly all those working for we believe is a very serious matter of course very shameful for the obama administration not to

stop that for the man who was right even objected four years ago to increase transparency and what we have seen is. the opposite witch hunt against whistleblowers. has first place in history will continue at work as we have done despite the difficult situation that has been in the ecuador embassy now for six months but probably it was the house arrest that hasn't stopped us we have continued our work. the economic blockade has not stopped us either even though we are getting into a dire situation financially but that's a battle that we have decided to turn into well all out war and i'm sure we'll have a victory there as well in the new year. the weeks on the way stay with us.

tucked in between the russian mainland japan and the circling island is the island of minute on named after french seafarer who discovered it it is described as the pride of the sakhalin region we'll take a look at what's in store for us here. until two thousand and four the island was part of the boarders own and was completely restricted to visit is now this picture as a place is open to tourists plants and animals are its top attraction. really has been exploring the deaths of the world sees for several decades but it's here at more your own island where he has finally found what he'd been looking for . me the most the water here is very clear the visibility is very good and the underwater world here is extremely rich i've been to many diving locations across the planet including the island of bali but mine are on top of my list while some

go to the cycling region to enjoy the sights others convert the islands nature's riches into a healthy dollar it is home to the biggest seafood processing factory in russia the tonight shock hundreds of thousands of tons of fish get caught in the nets too late to produce delicious salamon caviar almost and there's a serious tribute of anything in russia the owner of the enterprise says a good fishing season can bring in more than one hundred million dollars net profit . and to a large extent this is old to do what cycling offers environmentally it tonight operates in only and natural habitat and mild climate unique natural sights and delicious seafood sakhalin can offer a diverse holiday for those who are not afraid to travel ten thousand kilometers from europe the question is whether this distant land would ever be able to become a major tourist destination.

the way the artes weekly news review thousands of protesters held a series of rallies in bahrain this week demanding a transitional government and the removal of the prime minister who's been running the country for about forty years some demonstrations turned violent as police fired tear gas and arrested activists one of them for posting on twitter about the protests his tweets describe security forces directing pepper spray in the testers faces that he was accused of giving out false information to gulf monarchy has repeatedly been criticised by human rights groups for its crackdown on the opposition movement which is seen eighty people killed almost to rest because scientists quoting now us says that unlike other arab uprisings western governments

are not particularly interested in what bahrain's government is getting up to. trying to crack down on the opposition. of the international community that they have left the protests but at the same time they are. being protestors they are jail in three corners of the population or oppose them and the population is no longer scared of them the population wants to leave too and beginning to leave the country they want democracy they're tired of two hundred thirty years of dictatorship why is your side silence of the united states when the violations of human rights are so gross i just mean are generally quiet it is completely partisan and of course you and everyone else know most of the reason and that's because the fearfully based in bahrain. still uncertain whether

bahrain's arab spring style uprising will spill into a full scale revolution as happened in other nations with the support of western states and the first wave of unrest began in tunis it two years ago few could have seen how far it would spread and what results it would bring but really go to school reports from the cradle of the arab spring on those left behind. it began here in tunisia two years ago when a poverty stricken fruit vendor set himself on fire in an act of desperation so i'm saying he was a hero others say he was a drunkard with a history of psychological problems whatever more hala was this is real motivation was his act of self-immolation sort of a string of events which became known as the arab spring decades old regimes were toppled what came to replace them is hardly what most of the people in these countries had in mind when they were doing the revolutions they wanted freedom of speech and free elections bred on their tables and jobs what they got seems to be

a very different result situationist war strived comparison to. comparison to the years before. the revolution personally i don't feel safe. when we see. all the violence of the police sore or of the salafist or. if one policy attacked by some nationalist people. there are less freedoms right now when it comes to and they were freedoms there are attacks on individual freedoms every day i received so many messages from girls saying but they were. straight even by police men. who didn't tolerate their or their way off but the rest this seems to be a common pattern in the countries that i showed it's

a very just two years ago hopes of transition from authoritarian regime to new democratic forms of government seem to have altered rising islamism economy is in shambles and increasing just content the pattern is the same in tunisia and egypt where people are pouring out on the streets again with a renewed. sest i think a lot of people did vote for the muslim brotherhood in egypt because they wanted economic changes not just getting rid of mubarak and having morsi and morsi we know he's obviously you know very different political figure to mubarak in terms of psychology has carried on much the same policies in terms of economic policy in libya the uprising took a bloody turn moammar gadhafi has ruled the country for over forty years was deposed and killed in two thousand and eleven and he nearly the government has been struggling to control parts of the country going as far as besieging the entire town of bani walid for allegedly providing shelter to diehard khadafi supporters

the are using heavy machinery to demolish the demolished houses second be using now. guys again it's just a feeling people children and now really sick reaming we would know humanity of the one of the two please help us save our family. i got this time to make libya now the quirk of a place where no one can stop them and they have unlimited money and we're going to the western leaders were quick to praise changes across the middle east they said it was the beginning of a new democratic era for the region but the model of democracy they may have had in mind doesn't seem to be the right fit i think it has to be a different type of a democratic system. the democracy that the u.s. would like to impose upon egypt tunisia and morocco and the other countries throughout the region and even libya where what was waged last year to topple the

gadhafi government is not suitable to the people inside of that region in tunisia in and out of r.t. . russia's foreign minister says the western states are losing control over the syrian rebels and would not be prepared to intervene in the country's civil conflict sale of rob also said that during private talks with western officials he got the impression that the us and its allies were quietly praying for russia and china to carry on blocking intervention in the un vote countries have repeatedly vetoed such resolutions on syria to spoke exclusively to the foreign minister described the international community's failure to condemn rebel atrocities as wiring the armed groups of the position which are several which are not united under a single command they also reserve acceptable methods salut the contrary to international humanitarian law. taken hostages. staging terrorist

attacks and it is very disheartening that our western clothes in the security council started to refuse. preventing terrorist attacks in syria saying that yes there is music. but you must take a quick count the overall context of what is going on in syria and why people resort to terrorist attacks it's absolutely unacceptable and this logic might lead us if we follow this logic might lead us. very dangerous situation not only in the middle east but in other parts of the world. and the west would start would begin to. qualify terrorist as. bad terrorist and.

bob's. well it has to stop or it could happen or it's a call to dot com. in spain on thursday thousands attended

a mock funeral of the country's finances after a series of mass protests failed to stop a new batch of cuts what's been labelled the budget of hunger and misery includes some thirty nine billion euros worth of more starting investment advisor patrick young says madrid's burden is a result of years of government mistakes the truth is there is no money to pay all of these nurses and doctors there is no money for this lavish government infrastructure it has to be privatized sold off there have to be salvaged cults because truly spain has spent the last decade living on the never never it was built on the back of a huge property bubble the bubble was unsustainable nobody managed to manage start and unfortunately while we can obviously say it's a tragedy for the poor independent health care professionals there's just no way to manage to find the money to aid them in modern spain here is a government that has effectively and an overall majority they can do absolutely anything they want and they seem to be absolutely determined to do more or less

nothing and it's really a tragedy because they're not helping the spanish economy and they're not helping the people either. greece got to read the good news out here in the week when unexpected the credit rating boost the sort of ration was short lived though as yet another general strike paralyzed the country then for greece's the biggest banks declared they would need to twenty seven billion euro bailed out but used to stand flint well crisis a strategist who goes on in there says that the spite all the efforts european nations still haven't solved their basic problems right now. you know national community b i have nothing to see be an easy. wars austerity which makes investors happy but of course makes the people and a better community is relatively happy because you know there was more greater safeguards that their money is going to be turned down in the form of a lot so i think that you going to continue to see this where eels go up and the

people are happier but the investor community is less technique and then you have a swerves to the right where you have more austerity making people more angry and more riots and more protests and more stripes and yet investors feeling more secure in in in the bonds that they buy and greets you have to keep in mind this crisis is far from over the europeans have yet to solve the basic problem that the european. countries are insolvent simply do not have the money to pay back all the money that they have borrowed and because of that fact which is incontrovertibly we are going to come to a day of reckoning up some point the issue becomes when is that going to happen and how far will the bureaucrats be will keep the can down the road. coming up we report on how not everyone will be able to travel home for a warm family christmas the few minutes we report on new york you can home this one else splashes out onto insulin treats. but spending christmas near the stars some

three new crew members who've joined the international space station take their stories here after the break. on the edge of human capability. struggling with pain and grief. laid out to become the first. for. fall in. your language. for the weekend with no influential conversational so much. choose good news the consensus here. choose to give opinions that invigorated your .